Posts Tagged ‘East River Park’

Believe it or not, this picture of a woman rowing her boat in the river against the background of yellow and red tree foliage was taken in Israel. The river is the Yarkon, which years ago used to be the dumping ground for industrial waste and now it’s relatively clean and doesn’t smell at all. And the trees, my God, look at the reddening autumn trees! I remember turning 11 in this country before I got to see my first true reddening tree in fall. Now, this is progress!

We’re closing in on our first complete year here, in Israel. December 12 will be one year. I have to go change my NY State license (they give you a road test, too, brrrr…). Most nights we sleep with the air-conditioning off, which helps the pocketbook. We’ve already had two healthy rains coming down with a vengeance, one of them on Sukkot, but not the first night, so it’s OK.

I still don’t miss New York, except for the East River Park, which is now completely renovated and what a marvel and a delight. But come January it will be covered in a frosty blanket of snow while here, in Netanya, I’d be on the beach every day, dipping my footsies in the tide. So you win some and lose some.

The world is fresh this morning. The air is sweet. I might just go make myself a cup of tea and sit by the panorama window in the living room and watch the palm tree outside. That one ain’t going reddening any time soon. He is indigenous to the two-season Middle East: 9 months summer, 3 months winter.

I never had a palm tree in my front yard before. There’s a lot to watch…